A Better Place
by why444418
Summary: Joey is in a dark place after Robbo has assaulted her, can Charlie help her or has Joey gone to a better place. May trigger.
1. Chapter 1

I thought I was just finding my feet again, that my life had turned around and that I would have something to look forward to for once in my life. I thought I had escaped the life of a victim when my father died, no more physical or mental abuse, a time to start over. Getting the job on the trawler was a dream come true, things were changing and I had never been happier, then that arsehole came along and wrecked everything.

Do I have a sign plastered across my forehead saying "attack me", I mean everyone seems to think it is their god given right to hurt me. Since I was a kid I can't remember not being in a state of physical or emotional despair. Childhood is meant to be a happy time and parents are meant to love their kids unconditionally, yet mine was spent covering up bruises and being told how useless I was. Then just when that abuse finally comes to an end, I get a small window of enjoyment then I get shat on again.

When so much has gone wrong in my life it is hard to imagine why I was put on this earth in the first place. Am I here solely to be someone else's punching bag because honestly that is what it feels like and I can't take it anymore. Seriously no one would miss me, Brett doesn't give a shit, he is dad re-incarnated and if he found out that I was gay he would probably treat worse than dad did.  
I can't help but feel dirty and used, at least when dad hit me I had usually done something to deserve it, but this time I did nothing whatsoever wrong. I have no self respect left; I think Robbo stripped me of it, along with my dignity and my will to live. I just want the pain to go away, I want to close my eyes and wake up in a better place, somewhere where I can be happy.

I can't think of a better place to place then here to do it, the water is the only place that I have been truly happy. I have control over who is inflicting the pain, for once in my life I am in control. I am the one judging how deep and how long to cut, and it feels so good to be in control. It seems so right to do this, finally I might have peace, the cuts are meant to hurt but all I can feel is the pain leaving my body I feel at peace with the world for once. I feel happy knowing that I might finally find happiness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aden had just finished work and was walking home when he saw a figure slumped on the ground, walking over he instantly recognised that it was Joey lying on the ground covered in blood.

"Joey, Joey wake up" yelled Aden trying to wake Joey but she was unresponsive. Aden felt for a pulse, which he found, although it was very faint. Aden pulled out his phone and called an ambulance. The operator was asking so many questions, most of which Aden did not know the answer to. All he knew was that Joey had slit her wrists in an attempt to kill herself.

The ambulance arrived within minutes and the paramedics had attempted to stabilise Joey and then taken her to Hospital. They had given Aden minimal information, only telling him that Joey was in a critical condition. Now sitting in the hospital waiting room Aden was anxious, he had only known Joey for a short period of time but he genuinely wanted to help her.

"Aden," came a voice from across the room. Aden jumped up, realising that it was Rachel with an update.

"Joey is stabile now, but she is still very confused. Do you know what could have triggered this because it may help with her treatment?"

Aden bit his bottom lip and ran his hand through his hair, Joey didn't want him to tell anyone but he had no choice now.

"A couple of days ago she was raped by one of the guys that worked on the trawler, and I know she had a rough time of it when she was growing up"

As Aden said this he couldn't help but feel guilty, now thinking about it he should have realised and looked after Joey and made sure she was ok.

"That would understand her fragile mental state but I now need to report this to the police. Can you hang around to tell them what you know"

"Its the least I can do, I should have said something earlier and this might not of happened," said Aden solemnly.

"Hey this is not your fault you couldn't of done anything to prevent it, you did as Joey asked and you were there for her" replied Rachel, trying to put Aden's mind at ease.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Charlie and Watson walked into the hospital; they had received a call from Rachel about a suspected rape case. Rachel had said that the girl had been bought in after attempting suicide. Charlie hated cases like this, she hated seeing young girls lives being torn apart by scum bugs that didn't have a moral compass.

"Hi Charlie, sorry to have to call you in for such a terrible reason. The girl, Joey Collins, is stabile but is not communicating with anyone. It is probably best for you to talk to Aden first, he worked with her and seems to know her background," said Rachel in a compassionate but officious tone.

Charlie thanked Rachel and then when to talk to Aden, who told her everything he knew about Joey, including the fact that she wouldn't want her brother to know anything.

After her discussion with Aden, Charlie wanted to attempt to talk to Joey, she knew that she couldn't pursue the matter if Joey did not want to make a complaint against Robbo. Rachel was apprehensive about letting Charlie talk to Joey, she had always thought Charlie was cold and didn't think that it would be a good idea. However Charlie persuaded Rachel, on the proviso that Rachel was present, Charlie wasn't overly happy about the condition but she accepted it.

Walking into the room Charlie felt herself tense up, she felt the anger rise as she saw a desolate figure lying on the bed.

Rachel broke the silence, "Joey this is Charlie, she is here to talk to you about Robbo."

"Hi Joey, I know you don't want to talk at the moment but I just wanted to have a chat to you about what happened" said Charlie softly.  
"Fuck off, I don't want to talk to anyone, I was meant to find peace and happiness not someone who was going to make my life worse" said Joey, finally breaking her silence.

"Joey, I understand the reasons for why you did what you did, I know you felt like you are alone and no one cares about whether you are safe or not, but I want to help you" said Charlie.

"Bullshit you don't know anything, now will you just leave me alone so I can get out of here"

Rachel intervened at this point, "Joey you can't go anywhere, because you are a danger to yourself you will need to see a psychiatrist so they can make an assessment"

Joey was growing even angrier "So now you give a shit what happens to me, well it's a case of too little too late, you're about 20 years to late."

"Joey I wasn't there to help you for the past 20 years but I'm here to help you now, and I want to help you" said Charlie, revealing a side Rachel had never seen before.

"I'm not worth helping, I'm a waste of space and no one is going to help me, why can't you just let me go so I can control something in my life."

"Joey, what do you think you can control in your life."

"Whether I live or die, at least that is my choice."

"But there is a lot in your life you can control. You can take back your life instead of conceding defeat. You can start controlling your own life by pressing charges, you can start a new."

Rachel was surprised by the conversation she was witnessing, Charlie was exposing a softer side and more importantly Joey was opening up to someone, something she hadn't done before.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After seeing the interaction between Charlie and Joey, Rachel thought it might be more productive if she wasn't in the room. For some reason Charlie seemed to have an understanding with Joey, it was almost like Charlie knew what Joey was going through and Rachel liked seeing Charlie's softer side.

After Rachel had left the room Charlie had moved over to sit in the chair next to the bed. She decided that it would be better to try and reach Joey on a personal level in order to try and get her to press charges. From what Aden had told her Joey was a strong young woman and Charlie realised that if Joey stopped thinking about herself as a victim she would want to get justice for what Robbo had done. Sadly to achieve this Charlie would have to help rebuild a broken and dispirited girl, which she knew was going to take longer than one interview, but she had to start somewhere.

"Joey, I meant what I said earlier, I want to help you. I know at the moment that it seems that you have hit rock bottom but it will get better" said Charlie.

"And what would you know about hitting rock bottom, you think it's a tragedy if you break a nail" replied Joey in a sarcastic tone.

Charlie couldn't believe that after everything Joey had been through she still had a sense of humour and surely that was a positive sign. "Aden said you were a bit of a smart arse, I can see what he means now. I just can't understand why you did what you did, you seem like a strong woman"

"Well maybe it has something to do with the fact that I have been abused since I was three and treated like a door mat and then I finally get a bit of freedom and then I get kicked down again. I just don't seem to be allowed to be happy and I figured that it wasn't worth it anymore. I wanted to be in a place where no one could hurt me, somewhere where I could be happy. You don't know how good it felt to make the cuts in my wrist, I was in control for once," explained Joey, finally calming down.

Charlie was now close to tears and could only mutter under her breath, "yeah I do know how it feels."

"How could you know how it feels" questioned Joey.

Charlie sighed, she thought that her past was now long behind her but she wanted to help Joey and knew she had no choice but to tell the truth.

"I know that when the knife hits your skin the pain washes away, it is kind of a strange feeling, it should be hurting but all you feel is relief. It feels like you are in total control, you determine what happens."

"Did they teach you all this psyche stuff at the police academy or something"

"No this is from personal experience." At this point Charlie had tears streaming down her face and Joey soon realised that Charlie's concern for her was real, she understood why Joey had tried to kill herself because Charlie had been in exactly the same position.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you, I just struggle to trust anyone, I figured that you just wanted to use me to get an arrest," Joey was now upset that she had given this cop such a hard time, she seemed genuinely concerned and obviously wasn't as tough as she looked.

Charlie couldn't understand why she had let her guard down around this girl, she had told only one person about her struggles and now after only half an hour with this girl she was spilling everything. There was just something about her, Charlie thought that if someone gave her a chance, she would be just fine. Someone had to show her that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that life was worth living.  
Charlie's thought process was interrupted when Joey asked the question that Charlie really didn't want to answer.

"Why did you do it?"


	5. Chapter 5

Charlie had never told anybody what she was about to tell Joey, but she felt that she needed to show Joey that she wasn't alone and that there was hope. She took a deep breath in and started to tell her deepest secret.

"When I was 17 I killed my best friend in a car accident and I was hurting so bad and I needed to take the pain away, so I started cutting. I felt like everything was falling apart around me and the only thing that helped take the pain away was by hurting myself. It became a coping mechanism, my little secret that nobody knew about." Charlie was hurting thinking about her troubled past but she had to talk about it, she had to help Joey.

Joey wanted to know the details of the accident, but this was not the time to ask.

"On the outside I was your typical teenager but on the inside I was fighting so many demons, little voices saying that it was my entire fault. I hid it really well; I always cut in places that could be covered, the only person that knew was one of my teachers and if it wasn't for her I don't know what might have happened. She showed me that it wasn't my fault that Sarah died and I survived and told me that I should live for Sarah. "

Joey was shocked; here was a woman that she barely knew standing in front of her baring her soul. She felt like Charlie actually cared about her, the fact that she was willing to tell her darkest secret meant that Charlie trusted Joey.

The room feel silent for the moment, the only noise was Charlie's sniffles. Eventually Charlie broke the silence. "Joey I want to help you like my teacher helped me."

Joey smiled, for a moment she forgot what had happened in the previous month as she got lost in those beautiful blue eyes, all she could manage to say was "I would like that."

At this point Rachel walked into the room, Charlie had been in there for a while and Rachel wondered what was going on."


	6. Chapter 6

Rachel was shocked by the change in Joey, when she had left the room earlier Joey was still in a state of total despair but now she could see a small glimmer of hope in her eyes. However, from her experience Joey had a very long road ahead, not only did she have to deal with the recent trauma but also the events of her childhood had no doubt left her with long lasting psychological issues.

Charlie had remained in the room when Rachel returned, she wasn't exactly sure why but she felt she couldn't leave Joey. Joey started to tell Rachel that she still thought that death was still the best option but she was willing to talk to someone about it. She didn't really want to talk to someone but after Charlie, a woman she barely knew had sat next to her and bared her soul, she felt almost obliged to do it.

Rachel continued to explain to Joey that there was a possibility that she may need to be admitted to the Mental Health Unit. Joey was adamant that she would not be going to the crazy house and that she would be more likely to kill herself in the unit then she was in the real world. She even made a point of telling Rachel that she could sharpen a plastic spoon to stab herself or even hang herself with the elastic from her tracksuit pants. Whilst Joey had made these statements with a touch of sarcasm, Rachel couldn't help but agree with her. Mental Health units had the tendency to have a negative impact on those patients who were lucid and that could be termed sane, with the exception of their depression. Unfortunately, Rachel would have no other option but to admit Joey, as she did not have a stable environment to be released into, the only chance Joey had was if Charlie knew of a group home or shelter where Joey could go. Rachel asked Charlie to come out of the room for a word.

"Sorry Charlie, I didn't want to get Joey's hopes up because there is still a chance that we may have to admit her to the Unit, but if I can find somewhere that can keep an eye on her then I may be able to release her. I figure that you may know of a shelter or group home where she can go?"

Charlie was relieved that Rachel was doing her best to keep Joey out of hospital but she knew that a place would be hard to find.

"I know that there was a place in Yabbie Creek for abused women but it was closed a month ago due to funding restraints and the only other place is the group home but it is generally full of recovering addicts and probably not the best place for her to go.'

Rachel looked disappointed, without a stable place to go she would have to admit Joey. Charlie saw the look in Rachel's eyes and realised that the doctor had no other option but to admit her. Then for a reason that Charlie did not completely understand her mouth opened and words tumbled out of the usually stoic police officer.

"She can stay with me"

Rachel could not hide her surprise, she had thought Charlie was a cold heartless bitch but now she was starting to adjust her opinion.

"But Charlie, couldn't it be termed a conflict of interest"

"Well technically she hasn't lodged a complaint yet so there is actually no official police involvement," replied Charlie as quick as a flash.

Rachel pondered Charlie's offer, she couldn't put her finger on it but these two girls had a connection and perhaps being around a strong independent woman would be a positive influence on Joey.

"Ok obviously we will have to talk to Joey about it, but after the mandatory ninety-six hour hold and if Joey agrees, I would be willing to release her.

'


End file.
